Team Cholombia spent this week on the hilly outskirts of the city of Bogotá. We lived with a Pastor Javier, his wife, and their three children. We got to be a part of their ministry loving on the children of the neighborhood, lead a Vacation Bible School, and some preached at different churches in the area.
Pastor Javier, otherwise known as Tío, is one of the most servant-hearted givers I know. He gives out breakfast to the children in the neighborhood in the mornings and when they walk in to get their food, he calls them all by name and gives them a kiss on the cheek. We feel so blessed to have been able to lead the Vacation Bible School (VBS) with these kids he knows so well. The kids all come from very dysfunctional families and lack so much love and attention. They come to Pastor Javier’s house extremely excited, knowing we are going to love on them, play with them, hold them. It’s crazy, 50% of Colombian girls get pregnant by the time they are 16. The older girls that were attending the VBS already had their own kids, and some were only 14 years old.
Our theme for the VBS was simply “The Gospel” we split the teachings up into pairs and each pair lead one of the days. Day one Marita and Carly taught on creation, how God created the heavens and the earth and how each of us are made unique in His image. This message is so important to them because each of these kids feels insignificant. The second day Noah and Swantje taught on sin and salvation and gave the opportunity for the kids to accept Jesus into their hearts. We then had a powerful time of ministry where we were able to pray and lay hands on each child. The last three days was teaching them how to walk out a life with Jesus. Grace and Weston shared about healing, how God specializes in brokenness and finds joy in picking up the broken pieces of our heart and putting them back together. Then Javier and Brad taught on how they can prepare for battle, put on the armor of God, and be ready to fight against the schemes of the devil. Our last day with the children was Christmas Eve. We got to read the Christmas story in Luke and act it out for them. Rachael and I taught them about royalty and how if Jesus was born a King and they were each sons and daughters of Jesus, then they are each princes and princesses. There was a team from Paris who God used to prepare gifts for each one of the kids and they provided piñatas and were able to bless this kids so much with a Christmas party and their love for them. We went there to reach out to these kids, show them what love truly is, teach them about the Gospel, and simply try to bless and impact their lives. We left far more blessed and loved then we could ever imagine. Not just by the children and the joy they brought us, but from Pastor Javier and his family.
We had three opportunities to preach at three different Churches, one being Pastor Javier’s. Brad preached about being the hands and feet of God and we had an amazing ministry time praying over those who felt the impact of Brad’s message and the fire in their heart to truly be what God is calling them to be. Carly preached at Pastor Javier’s Church in his house about living a life worthy of the calling of God. She preached about the way we live out our lives knowing the authority we have in Christ and again we had a ministry time full of tears and joy praying over the people who wanted to walk out in this authority. Some were able to pray for a lady whose son has terminal cancer and she invited them to go to her house the following day to pray for him again. Brad, Weston, Javie, Swantje, and Marita went to her house the following day and got to pray over this man and he accepted Christ! Noah preached the next night after a nauseous thirty minute car ride to the church. We got to sit down in the pastor’s house, meet his wife and his grandchildren and hear the promises God has for him and his church to grow immensely. One of the many awesome things about being here is that Colombians are very hospitable and always giving you food. This Pastor, Pastor Carlos, prepared a typical Colombian Christmas dessert. He lives just above the church, so we walked downstairs and Noah preached about the battle over our hearts. The church was as church focused on discipleship and there were a lot of youth. Noah’s message was perfect for the people and we, yet again, had an amazing time of prayer over the people and were able to declare things over their lives. God’s spirit was so evident in each of the services we were able to attend.
Pastor Javier and his family showed us immense hospitality and made us feel like we were at home from the moment we arrived. We thought it would be hard to be away from our families on Christmas but we did have a family. We had an amazing Colombian family who cooked us incredible food and loved us as their own, and we had each other. Christmas in Colombia was quite an experience, for them, they celebrate in on Christmas Eve. We got to enjoy our last day with the kids, played cards for hours, and ate a Colombian Christmas dinner at midnight. Nubia, Pastor Javier’s wife, blessed us with awesome Christmas hats and then we got to watch crazy fireworks right outside our front door. Then next day we had another big Colombian lunch and got to thank Pastor Javier and his family for all they did for us and the opportunities they gave us to show the children of their neighborhood the love of Jesus. We prayed over them and blessed them with some Hawaiian chocolates and coffee and then traveled back to the Bogotá YWAM base. We had secret Santa presents and then our AWESOME leaders surprised us with presents all the way form home that our families secretly sent for us. It was the best Christmas because we spent it pouring out love to children who so desperately need it, and spent time in worship and prayer, giving thanks to God for sending His son. We felt so blessed and knew we were exactly where God wanted us.
This week was a week of daily pouring out and being filled up again. We each feel as if we are a part of this family and Pastor Javier told his doors are always open to us to return anytime we want to. We absolutely adore these kids we got to be with and left knowing our work was not in vain. God is working in amazing ways in Bogotá and we are excited for what else he has in store for this city and this country. Our hands our open and we want God to use us anyway He wishes. We desire to walk in obedience to what God calls us to do daily. Thank you so much for your prayers, God hears them and he is protecting us and surrounding us with angels.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
OUTREACH!!
Hello family and friends! We have arrived safe in Bogotá, Colombia after about 15 hours of travel. It is so exciting to finally be here, knowing we are to start a new adventure with a new family God has so precisely put together. We know God has incredible things planned for us and He has already shown us how He is going to use us to make an impact in peoples lives. We have discovered He isn’t just using us to minister to people, but He uses these people to change our lives as well.
We arrived Tuesday night and came upon our first opportunity to see God’s faithfulness, as Brad’s bag did not arrive at the airport. However, we were still in good spirits and stepped outside to the city of Bogotá that was much colder than we expected. The city is so busy; 8 million people within 613 square miles! We were picked up by two YWAM staff, Paola and Christina, and then drove to our base, which is a cozy house full of Christmas lights that made each of us feel at home right away. That night, Grace decided to fast until Brad received his bag from the airport. Praise the Lord, early the next morning the airport called to confirm our address because they had found Brad’s bag! Grace was so excited because we had not even eaten breakfast yet so she did not have to fast!
On Thursday we went on a bike tour of the city. It was a great way to get to know the city and the people and an opportunity to pray over the streets. The night before we prayed God would keep the sun shining and the sky clear for our tour. He did until about 4 in the afternoon when we were at a bull fighting ring and it began to pour. No matter what has come our way in these last several days, it has not brought our spirits down. In fact, we see these what-seem-to-be-dilemmas as testimonies of the joy God continues to fill us with. We were able to see the oldest church in Colombia, a coffee factory, and we rode through the second largest red light district in the country. Our tour guide, Juan, informed us that prostitution is legal in Colombia so the places that sell women do not try to hide the fact that they are prostituting women. When we drove through the district we could really feel the heaviness of the area, and we instantly began to pray for these women. We believe that prayer over the strongholds in the city is so powerful and after we pray we feel so much peace.
On Friday we rode the bus for an hour to the other side of the city and went to the Levantate y Resplandese Day Care, or the Rise and Shine Day Care. The children were from the ages of 2-15 and all from dysfunctional families in a bad neighborhood. This day care is more of a home and the women in charge of it are each on fire for the Lord and are called to take care of these children and raise them in a way their parents could not, in a way that shows them the unconditional love of Jesus. These children were so incredible. We feel we were really able to make an impact in their lives, even though we were with them for six short hours. Our theme for the day was “you are special” with a Christmas twist. Our favorite part was the last portion of our time where we sang worship songs, told them the meaning of Christmas and how special they are to Jesus. We laid hands on them and prayed over each of them. The Spirit of God was so present in this small room crammed with children. Praying over them was extremely powerful and God did something in their hearts that day. After prayer we were able to have some conversations with the older children and encourage them and really press upon them how special they truly are. We poured out so much thanks to Jesus who is constantly filling our cups. By the end of the day we were so full of joy and love because of the love of Jesus we were able to see in these Children and how much they were showing us they appreciated and loved us being there.
God showed us in our ministry with these children how we are to be His hands and feet. This day of ministry really gave us a taste of what we are going to be doing all next week. We will be leading a Vacation Bible School in a city about an hour and a half outside of Bogotá for a whole week. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, they really mean so much. God is so good, and being here in Colombia is a blessing in itself
We arrived Tuesday night and came upon our first opportunity to see God’s faithfulness, as Brad’s bag did not arrive at the airport. However, we were still in good spirits and stepped outside to the city of Bogotá that was much colder than we expected. The city is so busy; 8 million people within 613 square miles! We were picked up by two YWAM staff, Paola and Christina, and then drove to our base, which is a cozy house full of Christmas lights that made each of us feel at home right away. That night, Grace decided to fast until Brad received his bag from the airport. Praise the Lord, early the next morning the airport called to confirm our address because they had found Brad’s bag! Grace was so excited because we had not even eaten breakfast yet so she did not have to fast!
On Thursday we went on a bike tour of the city. It was a great way to get to know the city and the people and an opportunity to pray over the streets. The night before we prayed God would keep the sun shining and the sky clear for our tour. He did until about 4 in the afternoon when we were at a bull fighting ring and it began to pour. No matter what has come our way in these last several days, it has not brought our spirits down. In fact, we see these what-seem-to-be-dilemmas as testimonies of the joy God continues to fill us with. We were able to see the oldest church in Colombia, a coffee factory, and we rode through the second largest red light district in the country. Our tour guide, Juan, informed us that prostitution is legal in Colombia so the places that sell women do not try to hide the fact that they are prostituting women. When we drove through the district we could really feel the heaviness of the area, and we instantly began to pray for these women. We believe that prayer over the strongholds in the city is so powerful and after we pray we feel so much peace.
On Friday we rode the bus for an hour to the other side of the city and went to the Levantate y Resplandese Day Care, or the Rise and Shine Day Care. The children were from the ages of 2-15 and all from dysfunctional families in a bad neighborhood. This day care is more of a home and the women in charge of it are each on fire for the Lord and are called to take care of these children and raise them in a way their parents could not, in a way that shows them the unconditional love of Jesus. These children were so incredible. We feel we were really able to make an impact in their lives, even though we were with them for six short hours. Our theme for the day was “you are special” with a Christmas twist. Our favorite part was the last portion of our time where we sang worship songs, told them the meaning of Christmas and how special they are to Jesus. We laid hands on them and prayed over each of them. The Spirit of God was so present in this small room crammed with children. Praying over them was extremely powerful and God did something in their hearts that day. After prayer we were able to have some conversations with the older children and encourage them and really press upon them how special they truly are. We poured out so much thanks to Jesus who is constantly filling our cups. By the end of the day we were so full of joy and love because of the love of Jesus we were able to see in these Children and how much they were showing us they appreciated and loved us being there.
God showed us in our ministry with these children how we are to be His hands and feet. This day of ministry really gave us a taste of what we are going to be doing all next week. We will be leading a Vacation Bible School in a city about an hour and a half outside of Bogotá for a whole week. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, they really mean so much. God is so good, and being here in Colombia is a blessing in itself
Monday, December 5, 2011
The Simple Gospel
Seven days until we fly to Colombia South America, and the countdown is on. My heart and mind is continuing to be filled with more revelation, and more knowledge. We are called to be people of faith; radically sold out to pursue the calling God has put on our lives. Faith is an action of stepping out, not just an emotion. It needs to be accompanied by expression...without it, it's dead. The ironic thing is that in the beginning was God...in perfection, in wholeness, in all of His glory and yet He chose to create us. God doesn't need us*, God knows He can save the world but it's our job that He created us for. When we're fully engaged in our faith, we can gain a whole new perspective of God and the kingdom. In this process we get the opportunity to find what brings our spirit to life and gives us energy to cultivate the deepest desire for the gospel and nothing else. We shouldn't find our walks with God hard work, but euphoric. Find the key that unlocks this intimacy with Jesus.
The more you behold, the more you become. God is jealously trying to convince us of His love for us, we just need to respond. Out of further revelation of this will be complete surrender. Selfishness and denial of Jesus is the greatest injustice in human history. The gospel is something to get excited about!! It's GOOD NEWS!! But yet when receiving the most amazing, life-giving gift we ever will, we do it with heads bowed and eyes closed as if we're ashamed of people knowing. If we truly are ashamed, then we're truly not worthy. God has a right on our lives...it's either "Lord of all no Lord at all."
I'm learning that revelation of the love of God only comes from revelation of our own desperation and despair without Him. We must first lay our lives down in honor and worship not because of what we might get out of it in the end. We do however, serve an Abba of good gifts and blessings but that's all secondary. It's disgusting to me the conditions we put on obedience and this convicted me so strongly. Seriously...what would God do if we told Him, the creator of the universe, how much we have sacrificed for him?! NOTHING IS A SACRIFICE; HE IS WORTHY. Our greatest thing we lay down for the sake of the gospel is just a penny in the kingdom's economy.
We are living in a generation of a people with a deep longing for purpose, worth, and truth. It is a generation based on feelings and selfishness. When sharing the simple gospel, I find myself trying to sugar coat it or make it more appealing but we are ambassadors for the Word of God. I'm learning to be stronger in the faith because God promised mockery and trials and they're coming on in full force. It's pushing me to wake up in the joy of that surrendered life and rejoicing and blessing those who persecute me. Jesus's life was offensive and if my life resembles that of an unbeliever, something is terribly wrong. People want raw gospel, raw God. Hungry for the truth so in preparation for outreach I'm learning to sew the seeds of the true simple gospel and in the midst of hardship, finding harvest and knowing it's all worth it in the end. I am called to a higher standard, a life that resembles Jesus, and a character that reaps fruit of the spirit. Not because of how graciously and mercifully God has blessed me but because He is worthy.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.."
Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.."
Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.."
Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.."
BELIEVE THE TRUTH
LIVE THE TRUTH
PROCLAIM THE TRUTH
The more you behold, the more you become. God is jealously trying to convince us of His love for us, we just need to respond. Out of further revelation of this will be complete surrender. Selfishness and denial of Jesus is the greatest injustice in human history. The gospel is something to get excited about!! It's GOOD NEWS!! But yet when receiving the most amazing, life-giving gift we ever will, we do it with heads bowed and eyes closed as if we're ashamed of people knowing. If we truly are ashamed, then we're truly not worthy. God has a right on our lives...it's either "Lord of all no Lord at all."
I'm learning that revelation of the love of God only comes from revelation of our own desperation and despair without Him. We must first lay our lives down in honor and worship not because of what we might get out of it in the end. We do however, serve an Abba of good gifts and blessings but that's all secondary. It's disgusting to me the conditions we put on obedience and this convicted me so strongly. Seriously...what would God do if we told Him, the creator of the universe, how much we have sacrificed for him?! NOTHING IS A SACRIFICE; HE IS WORTHY. Our greatest thing we lay down for the sake of the gospel is just a penny in the kingdom's economy.
We are living in a generation of a people with a deep longing for purpose, worth, and truth. It is a generation based on feelings and selfishness. When sharing the simple gospel, I find myself trying to sugar coat it or make it more appealing but we are ambassadors for the Word of God. I'm learning to be stronger in the faith because God promised mockery and trials and they're coming on in full force. It's pushing me to wake up in the joy of that surrendered life and rejoicing and blessing those who persecute me. Jesus's life was offensive and if my life resembles that of an unbeliever, something is terribly wrong. People want raw gospel, raw God. Hungry for the truth so in preparation for outreach I'm learning to sew the seeds of the true simple gospel and in the midst of hardship, finding harvest and knowing it's all worth it in the end. I am called to a higher standard, a life that resembles Jesus, and a character that reaps fruit of the spirit. Not because of how graciously and mercifully God has blessed me but because He is worthy.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.."
Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.."
Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.."
Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.."
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